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Easy and super flavoursome vegan ramen noodles recipe with healthy wakame seaweed, delicious Shiitake mushrooms and crunchy pak choi.
Ramen is more than a soup, it is a meal and a soup all rolled into one. In Japan, it is a way of life and one of the most popular if not the most popular dish the country has to offer. It is filling, wonderfully healthy and easy to prepare, and when a big steaming beautiful bowl of noodle soup arrives on the table, it is also rather impressive. Our Ramen is not only full of flavour with umami-filled seaweed, meaty shiitake mushrooms and slippery soba noodles, but it is also totally vegan. This plant-based version of classic ramen is delicious and almost addictive.
What is ramen?
Ramen is an ever-popular noodle soup from Japan. The popularity of this dish is evident from the 24,000 or more ramen restaurants in Japan that have sprung up since the second world war. Post-war, when Japan was under US occupation, cheap wheat was introduced into the economy and noodles made their way into everyday foods rather than the rice-based dishes that were the norm. Its popularity grew from the black market vendors to the thousands of restaurants in Tokyo alone we see today. Simply made with a broth with ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, vegetables, noodles and a few slices of meat often accompanied by an egg inside, this world-renowned soup is made the whole world over with a matter of ease. Ramen can be bought from street vendors to Michelin star restaurants and of course the packet range that has been called one of Japan’s greatest inventions. There is even a museum dedicated to this noodle soup. Once you know the basics of how to make this amazing noodle broth, you can chop and change your ingredients, make it meaty or totally vegan, spicy or aromatic. The choice is yours but this is a must-try ramen recipe.
Vegan ramen noodles with wakame seaweed
The base of our vegan ramen noodles broth is wakame seaweed. This is easy to source, especially in Asian supermarkets where it comes dehydrated in a pack. Simply pour boiling water over to rehydrate the kelp and the longer you leave it to steep in the water the more of an intense flavour the broth will take on. Traditionally, the soup would be made with pork or chicken bone broth, but this incredibly healthy seaweed imparts such an amazing flavour, you will probably make all of your ramens this way. You can tailor the flavour by adding a stock cube to the broth and in our vegan ramen noodles, we add an organic mushroom stock cube to highlight the flavours of the shiitake mushrooms we add later.
A healthy vegan ramen noodles recipe
Wakame seaweed is also considered a superfood with ongoing studies trying to explore and unlock its health benefits. This ingredient is particularly popular in Chinese, Korean and Japanese cuisines. The correlation between diet and life expectancy in these countries makes for interesting reading too. Some studies indicate wakame could potentially block the growth of cancer cells, such as kidney to colon cancer. It also contains high levels of iodine which is important for a proper functioning thyroid and to enhance metabolism. Consuming wakame could also lower blood pressure and help maintain good cardiovascular health. People with diabetes, digestive conditions and heart disease may also be recommended to consume wakame as it has been shown to enhance insulin resistance whilst displaying highly anti-inflammatory qualities. A powerhouse ingredient that may well make a regular appearance on your shopping list.
It is not the only tasty and healthy ingredient either. Soba noodles which we use in our recipe are noodles made with buckwheat rather than normal wheat. Buckwheat is one of the rare plant-based complete proteins, meaning that it contains all the amino acids needed in your diet without the need for meat. Shiitake mushrooms, which are added, are high in selenium which is a very important trace element required in your diet. The major role this has to play for our bodies is that it helps regulate normal cell growth and repair. The next time you are feeling a bit unwell, perhaps instead of reaching for some Jewish penicillin (chicken soup), it may be worthwhile exploring the health benefits of homemade wakame ramen. Top it off with some crunchy raw ribbons of carrot and a quickly wilted pak choi and you are set for an amazing Japanese gastro experience in your very own home.
How to make the best vegan ramen
There are a few steps to making great vegan ramen noodles. To make this one plant-based without jeopardizing any flavour or quality at all, you actually make this a lot simpler than one of its meatier counterparts. Start by pouring boiling water over the dried wakame kelp and add a mushroom stock cube. A ⅓ of a cup of wakame will unfurl to the perfect amount for two people in 600ml/2.5 cups of boiling water. We would recommend leaving the wakame seaweed to steep in the water for at least half an hour to develop a greater flavour. A great tip to increase the depth of flavour if you don’t have too much time on your hands is to add a concentrated dashi stock made from kombu kelp which can also be bought in Asian supermarkets. Ideally, you would want to leave the wakame in the water for about an hour. You can easily prepare the rest of the ingredients at this time. Simmer the soba noodles in boiling water for 4 minutes then drain and leave in a bowl of cold water, cut the carrot with a potato peeler into ribbons and wilt the pak choi in a dry frying pan for a few minutes. These ingredients can remain cold until you are ready to boil the broth as it will be this heat that will warm the ingredients when you are ready to serve. Simply remove the wakame from the broth and squeeze, then chop it into bite-sized pieces. Pour the broth into a pan and add the Shiitake mushrooms and bring to a gentle simmer. Divide the drained soba noodles, carrots, wakame and pak choi equally into deep soup bowls and then pour over the cooked broth with the mushrooms over the top. Garnish with fresh coriander/cilantro, sesame oil and some spicy togarashi seasoning and serve immediately.
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Vegan ramen noodles recipe
Ingredients
- 20 g or ⅓ of a cup of dried wakame
- 600 ml or 2½ cups of boiling water
- 1 organic mushroom stock cube
- 1 pak choi, cut in half
- 1 carrot cut into ribbons with a peeler
- 75 g of soba noodles
- 150 g of fresh Shiitake mushrooms
- Fresh coriander/cilantro to garnish
- Sesame oil
- Togarashi seasoning
Instructions
- Place the wakame in a measuring jug and pour 600ml/2½ cups of boiling water over the top and add the mushroom stock. Stir and leave between 30 minutes and 1 hour.
- Bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer and add the soba noodles to cook for 4 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of cold water and set aside.
- Peel the carrot into ribbons and set aside.
- Cut the pak choi lengthways in half and fry in a dry frying pan for 2-3 minutes until charred and wilted, set aside.
- When the broth has developed the flavour after at least 30 minutes, remove the wakame, squeeze and chop into bite sized pieces. Pour the broth into a pan and add the Shiitake mushrooms and bring to a gentle simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Drain the noodles and divide them with the carrots and pak choi equally between 2 bowls. Pour over the boiling broth with the mushrooms and garnish with coriander/cilantro, sesame oil and togarashi seasoning. Serve straight away.
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